hotaru zoku

the japanese have a collective term for office workers and the like who smoke outside. they are called 'firefly set' or 'hotaru zoku'. I thought this was a really nice bit of language. it immediately creates a scene in your head. and a wonderfully tranquil one at that.

I've thought alot about the use of language since I've been living here - both english and japanese. examples like us calling the shinkansen a bullet train - very descriptive, but rather aggressive.

and whilst I just genetically have problems with american english, there are certain words such as 'fall' (as in the season) that I have found a real respect for. the grammar's still appauling, but.